


Errant

by EmeraldLatias



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 06:30:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10530834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldLatias/pseuds/EmeraldLatias
Summary: Sometimes, it’s random misfortune instead of luck that makes it all work out in the end.Prompt fill for a shy/anxious S/O who's liked him for a long time sharing a first kiss with Ignis. Ignis x reader, set in-game, pre-Altissia.





	

Usually, nights spent in hotel rooms were something of a godsend – a welcome reprieve from roughing it in cramped campers or the great, but unpredictable, outdoors. But tonight was shaping up to be something of an exception.

You and the guys had the fortunate luck to even manage a late night arrival into Lestallum in spite of a Red Giant banging up the Regalia into nearly-undrivable condition. Luck which proved to have been entirely spent on said miracle.

“Aw man…you serious?” Prompto said dejectedly.

“Again, I do apologize for that room type being unavailable. All of the 2-queen bed room suites have sold out in anticipation of the carnival starting tomorrow.” the Leville front desk associate reiterated. “I do, however, have several king bed rooms on the second floor available for your immediate comfort.”

“Any chance we could get a rollaway bed for one of the rooms?”

The associate shook his head. “Unfortunately we are all sold out of those as well.”

The blond looked back at Ignis with his best puppy dog look. “Are three rooms in the budget, Iggy? I really don’t want to even think about sleeping on the floor tonight. My back is killin’ me from that last fight.”

“While we do have to set aside money for the towing and repairs,” Ignis began before pausing, presumably to do some mental tabulations, “…I suppose a third room is doable for a night, given the circumstances.”

“Woohoo – you’re the best Iggy! Soft beds, here we come! Who’s rooming with me tonight?”

With Noct occupying a section of the circular white couch, and clearly not paying attention for that matter, the question boiled down to whether or not Ignis or Gladio was more in the mood to deal with Prompto.

After one particularly-sleepless night in the Old Lestallum, you had made the executive decision to ensure that all sleeping configurations factored in everyone’s size to avoid tight squeezes – as the shortest of the group, it frequently meant keeping mum to keep the peace. It was one thing when everyone had cocoon-like sleeping bags that contained everyone’s limbs, quite another when it cost far too much in Ebony to bribe Ignis to overlook an accidental black eye owing to your _brilliant idea_ to have him share a bed with the big guy because you thought it ‘ _wouldn’t make a difference’_ that night.

“…Alright, I’m feelin’ generous for a change.” Gladio preemptively offered, breaking the silence before it even had the chance to grow into a stalemate. “I’ll room with you, Prom Queen.”

_“Hey, what do you mean by ‘generous?’”_

Prompto’s predictable indignation at Gladio’s jab sounded muffled despite the sheer volume of the squawking, almost completely lost on your ears.

Mostly because every one of your senses were drowned by the chorus of paralyzing thoughts ringing through your mind, body and soul.

It didn’t matter that Gladio hadn’t even turned around to look at anyone who was not Prompto with any wink-wink, nudge-nudge connotations when he had goaded him with the comment, you were convinced there was some play outside of annoying the blond. There had to have been when they got along like oil and water and any kind of discussion with Gladio about rooming with him were typically resolved by furtive, highly-contested and ever-multiplying rounds of rock-paper-scissors.

In spite of yourself, you stole a glance at Iggy. He was now at the counter, handing the clerk with the proper identification and the precise amount of Gil needed for the deposit. Clearly not affected by or thinking about this weirdness whatsoever.

_Maybe you were overanalyzing things,_ you told yourself, also absentmindedly wondering how Ignis kept his dress shirt fully-buttoned and neatly tucked into his pants despite the rather acrobatic fighting style he employed in battle.

If you were dead tired, everyone else had to have been dead-dead-dead tired since you had ended up largely relegating yourself to curative-chucking duty in that last skirmish before hightailing it here. It made sense considering you were well beyond ‘stealing a glance’ territory at this point after maintaining your gaze for the better part of a minute and no had capitalized on the prime opportunity for ribbing.

Disengaging from the aimless and nearly-shameless staring, you plunked your butt next to a very tired-looking Noct on the lobby couch and feigned a yawn, slumping your head for good measure. It was a longshot but perhaps playing the part would summon the tiredness that had not quite reached you yet.

But by the time Ignis had finished with the clerk and headed towards the two of you after handing Gladio his and Prompto’s key card, you accepted the ruse was for naught. If you were awake before, you were now awake and on an electrifying high the strongest espresso couldn’t even touch.

“Hey Noct,” you said with a nudge, “Might want to stop melting in the couch. Ignis is coming over with the key cards.”

The prince waved you off. “No big deal. Specs is used to couch melting. Right, Speccy?”

“Unfortunately.” Ignis tersely replied, as if on cue. He handed Noctis the key packet. “Please be ready around ten o’ clock sharp. Cindy will be arriving with the tow truck so it would be wise not to make her wait.”

Noct shrugged as he pocketed the key in one of his side pockets. “Not sure why you’re telling me this since pretty much everyone’s always up before I am.”

“While that may be the case, I’d rather not keep the time of our departure remain a mystery.” Ignis said. “In any event, do you have any preference in regards to the rooming arrangements?”

“Is having a room to myself an option?” he sardonically answered.

“It can be if you can manage to wake at an appropriate hour without assistance.”

The prince tilted his head a little; you tried not to do the same.

“…I guess I can use that obnoxious ring tone Prompto made for an alarm.” he tentatively said, the slight uncertain tone suggested he was trying not to look a gift Chocobo in the mouth. “Thanks Ignis.”

Noctis lingered on the couch for a moment, as if he was anticipating further instructions. When the words never came, he got up and quietly left for his room. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed him glance at the two of you for a second before heading up the stairs.

A few seconds later when he was no longer in sight, you were now the only ones left in the lobby outside of the hotel staff. And it almost felt too quiet.

“That was nice of you to let him have his own room for a change.” you commented as you got up.

“Admittedly, I had ulterior motives for allowing it, but I suppose that it does not preclude the arrangement from being mutually-beneficial.”

Your brain filled with static and bees as you started to follow the same path the rest of them had various moments ago. It was a surprise that you hadn’t made a faux pas and lost your footing already.

“…Oh, really?”

He casually nodded before leading the way up the steps. “Noctis will never learn to rouse on his own if I constantly serve as his alarm clock. This will serve as a good lesson for him.”

Oh. Never mind.

“So this isn’t some evil plan to sleep in?” you tried to joke.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Though I am not averse to having a night without errant limbs or flagrant snoring disrupting my slumber, however.”

You groaned. “You wouldn’t _‘dream’_ of it? Really Ignis? Really? Was the evil, nay, _diabolical,_ part of the plan to set up that pun?”

“You give me too much credit.” he politely protested, stopping at the top of the stairs and turning around to let you catch up. Then in a lower tone he added, “ _The diabolical part is that I never specified that Cindy would be here at 10 o’ clock, simply that she was arriving in her tow truck.”_

From one step directly below him, you snickered.

_“That is evil. And I love it.”_ you conspiratorially replied in a hushed voice.

“It is a necessary evil, more than anything.”

“I can imagine.” you added, sidestepping around him.

As you resumed walking, the slight disappointment started to creep back in and leaden your stomach much in the same way gut rot did. Maybe it would be easier if you just didn’t play this game anymore.

Even still, you found yourself putting it off until Ignis was less than an inch away from inserting the card into the hotel room’s key reader.

“Say Ignis…”

He turned around. “Yes?”

The eye contact practically burned. “I was thinking, maybe it would be easier for everyone if I just roomed with Noct. You could actually get a full night’s sleep for a change and I could be there to wake him up if he doesn’t on his own to make sure we’re ready before Cindy arrives.”

“It is very kind of you to offer but in all likelihood, Noct could already be asleep. At the very least, he might not appreciate the sudden change of plans.”

“True. I didn’t think of that.”

Ignis resumed what he had been doing and a second later, you could hear the slight mechanical drone amid some background din and see the little green light go off. But when he went to reach for the handle, he didn’t push the door open afterwards; a loud clattering noise from another door had claimed his attention and gaze.

When his face broke into an incredulous look, you decided to look in the same direction. In that moment, you instantly understood why.

A few feet away, a small horde of three people donning mascot outfits – two Moogles of varying heights and a smaller Chocobo - exited from the suite besides yours, the din growing to a cacophony of kwehs, kupos and warks as they headed towards you and Ignis. You took two steps forward to Ignis’s side so they had room to pass through seeing as Ignis’s brain was just as short-circuited as yours to _actually_ attempt to go inside your room.

But as it became clearer that the occupants inside the costumes were beyond plastered judging by their collective discombobulated gait, you became less certain that this was all they needed to be on their merry way. Then all certainty evaporated when the Chocobo wobbled over to where you two were.

_“Do you guys know where the nearest bar is, kweh? Tryna do a pre-carnival pub crawl, see.”_ the impish female voice from underneath the costume asked you. Then she waved a wing at Ignis. _“Don’t worry, not gonna drink and Chocobo – also gonna chug pleeenty of water after. See my pouch? Jug of water in there. My girlfriends are gonna do the same. Well, gonna buy them waters ‘nnstead because they’re pouchless but you totally get the idea, wark?”_

“Oh – no worries.” you said, following that up with a few bar suggestions. The Chocobo curtsied after you were done giving her group options. 

_“Thanks a bunch – maybe see you guys at one of these fine establishments later?”_

You shook your head. “Fraid we can’t – need to hit the hay soon since it’s an early wake up tomorrow. Thanks for the offer though.”

“ _Ahhh_ , say no more.” Chocobo girl replied in a stage whisper. “Well, have a **_good_ ** evening at any rate.”

And in that moment, your cheeks turned red faster than a genuine Chocobo could bolt. You’d hoped that Ignis hadn’t noticed and opted to reacquaint himself with the task of opening the door once the three had left, but no. He was looking at you with a slight amused look on his face.

“If it’s any consolation, this is far from the worst off-hand comment inebriated hotel guest has made within earshot. That dishonourable mention belongs to the time Gladio had no choice but to borrow a pair of trousers when Prompto had temporarily misplaced his entire wardrobe.”

You grimaced a little at the mental image. “I take it that they were never the same again?”

“That would be a _bit_ of an understatement considering had Noct set them on fire later.” he dryly answered.

All you could do was give him an incredulous look at this point. Never would you have thought Noct’s yarn from that campfire weeks ago was the truth instead of a creatively-sardonic spin on _‘liar, liar, pants on fire’_ like you’d suspected.

“…I have so many questions about this.” you managed to say. “But maybe we should save that for when someone isn’t liable to walk by at the most awkward time without context. I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s the law of the universe regarding all weird conversations.”

“Agreed.”

In what seemed like a small eternity later, Ignis had returned to the door and inserted the key card. When the green light and small mechanical noise indicated the door was unlocked this time, he turned the handle to open the door without interruption. Ignis passed through the threshold and held the door open with his hand, using the other to usher you to do the same.

It only took you a flick of the main light switch and few steps into room before you gained visual confirmation that Ignis’s nefarious plan didn’t involve tricking you to believe there was only one bed to surprise you with two. The right hand wall was dotted with a pair of oversized chairs and on the left there was a pristine, king-sized bed with crisp turquoise linens. The chairs, while big, weren’t large enough to sleep in, nor would Ignis ever let you even if they had been.

You turned around only to find Ignis was already putting away his jacket in the closet by the door. There was a special kind of irony in getting distracted in your own attempt of distraction. And it truly was torture to know how such a prime opportunity was going to be thoroughly squandered on every level and would always be squandered.

Before he could even close the sliding door, you turned back around to unceremoniously flop face-first onto the right side of the bed. It was an ersatz substitute for the kind of release screaming into pillows provided but it at least afforded you the luxury of not having to worry about the state of your facial expression.

“…And here I thought I could avoid errant limbs tonight.”

You unburied your head but made a point to keep your left hand outstretched as you looked up at Ignis, who’d somehow teleported himself to the edge of the other side of the bed without hearing so much as a footstep.

“…It’s not errant if it doesn’t move.” you mumbled.

“It’s not _erratic_ if it doesn’t move. It can still be errant as it is still straying from what is expected – said expectation being that it stays on your half of the bed, which I presume is the right hand side.” he lightheartedly corrected. You lifted your index and pointed in his direction.

“…Touché.”

“If your hand is close enough to touch, it still counts as errant, I’m afraid.”

You groaned into your pillow, retracting all non-erratic but still-errant limbs to your side of the bed. A sizeable lull punctuated the exasperation before you took notice that the mattress sunk a little bit.

“Groan-inducing puns aside…” he began, the slight increase in volume suggesting he was sitting on his side of the bed proper, “…I recognize that we are at an impasse at the moment. And perhaps…it would be best to resolve matters before it starts manifesting in other aspects of our lives to the detriment of everyone.”

If it would have been at all possible to bury your entire body into the mattress, you would have in that moment. Unfortunately, Noct had the monopoly on the ability to melt into furniture and you were shut out of the market entirely. Resigning yourself to the inevitable awkwardness, you shifted just enough to re-unbury half your face so you could glance upward at him but not enough to say anything without eating mattress.

Thankfully, Ignis presumed the silence on your part was a foregone conclusion and started to talk.

“As of late, Gladio has been not-so-subtly hinting that there is something between us. I’m almost certain that his actions tonight were no coincidence even if Noct’s were.” he stated in an almost sombre tone, now peering at the foot of the bed instead of looking at you. “I’ve tried to pay the comments no mind since my duties as royal advisor preclude me from anything of the sort, regardless of whether they were grounded in fantasy or reality.”

_“…But?”_

You surprised yourself when the word came out of your mouth on its own accord faster than your brain could stop it.

“ _But_ …when you find yourself startled over random hotel guests of varying heights in costumes before realizing they’re women and remembering that everyone else’s rooms are on the opposite end of the floor…and that they do not own such things in the first place, you have to wonder if you’re not already distracted to begin with.”

As much as your entire nervous system protested, you slowly got out of your faceplant position on the bed to turn around and sit up straight. The wavering of his far-off glance told you this gesture did not go unnoticed.

“So I guess the question becomes…which is it for you – fantasy, reality or fantasy based on reality?” you quietly asked.

Just as quietly, he answered, “I’ve no idea what you mean by that last one but, there is some basis in reality even when I did not want to see it. My duty to Noct has to come first and foremost always - it would be unfair of me to expect that of anyone.”

“…In the interest of resolving matters, I will admit that wanting something that you know you shouldn’t is a feeling I know a bit too much about.” you told him, your head dipping a little for a second. “That being said…there won’t be any hard feelings if this becomes a conversation we never had and I have to tell Gladio that he’s having sodium-induced hallucinations. I promise you that.”

Ignis warmly smiled at you. “Thank you. I appreciate the offer since it might be necessary.”

Even though it wasn’t the response you were hoping for, you couldn’t help but smile in return.

And when he leaned in to lightly kiss your cheek, you couldn’t help but smile even wider.

It would be a _**good**_ night, after all.


End file.
